UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The eighth-ranked Wayne State University women's basketball team (11-1 overall, 7-1 GLIAC) won its seventh consecutive contest with a 76-73 road victory at Saginaw Valley State University (6-8 overall, 1-7 GLIAC) Saturday evening.  This is the second straight year the Warriors have started 11-1, which is tied for the third best start in school history.  The 1980-81 team went 11-0, and after a setback rattled off nine more wins for a 20-1 start, while the 1976-77 squad had a 13-1 start to the season.

WSU raced out to an 11-1 advantage in the first five minutes as junior guard Destiny Lavita-Stephens (Grand Blanc, Mich. / Goodrich) had five points, senior forward Amber McCann (Southfield, Mich. / Southfield-Lathrup) added a pair of baskets, and senior center Shareta Brown (Pontiac, Mich. / Grand Blanc) made a pair from the charity stripe.

The host Cardinals answered with a 14-2 run concluding on a triple by Jessica Alexander which gave the hosts a 15-13 lead just past the mid-point of the first half.  SVSU had a couple of four-point leads (19-15 and 21-17) prior to back-to-back buckets by McCann in a span of 24 seconds to knot the game at 21.

Junior guard Brittany Streetman (Warren, Mich. / Lincoln), who had not connected from long range in 2015, drained a three-pointer with just under 3:30 remaining before intermission to put Wayne State ahead 24-23.  It was WSU's first lead in over six minutes.  The Warriors ended the opening 20 minutes on a 6-2 run in the final 90 seconds which included a conventional three-point play by Brown and another triple by Streetman.  It marked third time this year Streetman had multiple three pointers in a contest.

Wayne State led 32-28 as McCann had a game-high 10 points at halftime on 5-of-7 shooting, with Brown grabbing a game-best seven boards.  The Warriors shot 38 percent (13-of-34) from the floor with the Cardinals making 35 percent (10-of-29).  Shelby Herrington led SVSU with eight points and five rebounds off the bench.

WSU was able to extend its lead to seven early in the second half as senior guard Jackie Jones (Detroit, Mich. / Martin Luther King) and Brown each made field goals, and McCann split a pair from the foul line.  Saginaw Valley State had a 5-0 run to pull within two (39-37) and moments later Cardinal Danielle Carriere connected from beyond the arc to cut Wayne State's lead to one at 41-40.  However, back-to-back hoops by sophomore forward Gabby Machado (Pontiac, Mich. / Northern) and senior guard Ondrea Hughes (Kalamazoo, Mich. / Loy Norrix) pushed the lead to five. The 8-0 Warrior run concluded with two more free throws by Brown and a basket by Hughes.

SVSU's Emily Wendling ended the hosts field goal drought of 4:10 with a lay-up at the 12:08 mark.  Later the Cardinals cut their deficit to five (62-57) with 5:02 left after Wendling made two foul shots.  Wayne State freshman guard Shannon Wilson (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Bloomfield Hills) drained a triple on the ensuing possession to extend the lead to eight.

WSU had a 10-point advantage (71-61) with 1:38 to play after a lay-up by Brown but in the last 100 seconds, the Warriors were 0-for-1 from the field with a turnover, and just 5-of-9 from the charity stripe.  Meanwhile, Saginaw Valley State was 3-of-6 from the floor including a made triple by Carriere along with a 5-for-5 performance from the foul line.

The Cardinals had the ball with 11 seconds left and trailing by three but were never able to get a shot off.

Brown notched another double-double with game-high totals of 20 points and 18 rebounds.  McCann was the only other Warrior in double figures with 11 points, while Hughes contributed a career-best six assists.

Samantha Zirzow led four Cardinals in double figures with 16 points as Carriere added 14 points.  Both Wendling and Alexander chipped in 13 points apiece.

Wayne State, who finished 7-1 against the GLIAC North Division this year, will conclude its three-game road trip next Thursday with a 6 p.m. tip-off at Tiffin.